Message from City Councillor Adam Giambrone

Dear Residents,

I wanted to take the opportunity to provide you with a detailed update about what happened during last Friday's power failure in the west end, what aspects of Toronto's emergency response went well and where there is room for improvement.

Before I get to that, it has been brought to my attention that some residents have asked for a public meeting to discuss what actions Hydro One will be taking to solve the problems at the Dufferin Transformer Station so as to reduce the risk of this sort of thing happening again. I have contacted our MPP Tony Ruprecht to ask that he call such a meeting for our neighbourhood. Unfortunately I was informed by his staff that Mr. Ruprecht was unavailable until some time next week. I will continue to raise this issue with him and encourage him to organize this meeting. Should he do so, I would like to attend and bring City staff to speak to you about the City's Emergency Plan. In the meantime, the MPP for Parkdale, Cheri DiNovo, has organized a meeting on Thursday January 22nd at 7:00 pm at the Parkdale Library, 1303 Queen Street West. Councillor Perks and representatives from both Hydro One and Toronto Hydro will also be attending. Any interested residents from our neighbourhood are welcome to attend to get more information.

As many of you now know, last week's power outage was caused by a faulty sprinkler system in Hydro One's Dufferin Transformer Station. Hydro One is the provincial electricity utility owned by the Province of Ontario. The water from the sprinklers significantly damaged equipment, resulting in a loss of power to an area roughly bounded by Jane St. and Spadina Ave, and by St. Clair and Queen Street. Approximately 75 per cent of residents had power restored about 18 hours later, and power was restored to the remaining 25 per cent nearly twenty-four hours after the lights went out.

During this crisis, the City of Toronto immediately implemented our Emergency Plan. Toronto Hydro crews worked around the clock alongside their Hydro One counterparts to restore power to the affected area and City Staff from all other divisions worked to do their part. I personally was up most of the night mobilizing City and TTC staff to get emergency resources into place as quickly as possible to help those in need. Examples of actions taken by the City include: opening warming centres around the City where people with no where else to go could stay warm; assigning police to keep traffic moving at intersections where the traffic lights were out; the TTC mobilized all available buses into the area for people who rely on transit; a phone line was set up for seniors and the disabled who needed rides out of the area; and City public health staff, and others, went door to door to check on vulnerable residents in houses and apartments to make sure they were okay. Every effort was made to communicate this information to effected residents through phones, the internet and local media outlets. Many residents also took the initiative to check on their neighbours themselves and help them through this difficult situation.

Now that the emergency has passed, the City is in the process of analysing what aspects of the Toronto Emergency Plan worked well and what areas need improvement. By and large, I am incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication of both city staff and ordinary citizens who rose to the occasion to help make sure everyone got through the crisis safely. That being said, there is always room for improvement and one area in particular that many residents have brought to my attention is that they had trouble getting information about what resources were in place to help them. The City will be taking a close look at how communication can be improved in future emergencies.

Some residents have also asked if there are any resources in place to help them if their homes were damaged during the blackout, such as from a burst pipe. I have contacted Hydro One on their behalf and have been informed that their position is that residents should contact their insurance providers for assistance. Should their position change, or should any other programs be created to help residents experiencing this sort of issue, I will get that information out to the community.

An emergency like this one also reminds each of us that it's important for all of us to plan ahead and be prepared. An important action that you and your family can take is to put together an emergency kit. Your kit should include such items as enough water and non-perishable food to last each member of your household up to 72 hours, a flashlight, a battery-powered radio, an extra one-week supply of medication, candles with matches, and a first-aid kit. For more detailed information on what you can do to be prepared, please visit http://www.toronto.ca/bia/pdf/oem_booklet.pdf.

Yours truly,

Adam Giambrone

Toronto City Councillor

Ward 18 Davenport